The Ohio Department of Job and Family services reports the latest jobless rate rose to 7.2% in June with the loss of 12,500. Economist Ken Mayland of Clearview economics in Cleveland says there’s also an underlying trend in the job numbers that could spell trouble for job-seekers. More businesses are offering only part-jobs.

“So, there is no question that the split of jobs between fulltime and part-time has been in recent months somewhat tilted towards part-time emplyment,” says Mayland.

Mayland cites national figures for job creation in June as evidence of the trend.

“There was a more than 300,000 person increase in the number of persons working part-time for economic reasons. And that 300,000 increase was greater than the total increase in household employment,” adds Mayland.

And Mayland says that trend toward part-time employment is evident in every region of the country. In Ohio, figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates 413,000 Ohioans are looking for full time work, including Bobby Crawford and Mohamed Osman of Columbus.

“Lot of competition out there. You know, there’s too many people out here looking for work,” says Osman.
“It’s terrible all the way around. I was 17 year executive chef before this. There’s just nothing out there,” says Crawford.

Crawford says he’s been applying for chef jobs for the past year and a half and he now gets a wider range of rejections from potential employers.

“You’re too qualified. We’re looking for somebody more in the college area. You’re too old for this job. You have too many tattoos. Just odd answers that you don’t expect to hear,” says Crawford.

As a result of the repeated rejections, Crawford says he’s turned to temporary and part time work.
“I have to string jobs together. I’m a single dad. So, it’s just, everywhere I turn I’ve got to make money somehow,” says Crawford.

Crawford says says he makes what money he can by working temporary jobs or side jobs like landscaping or anything else people might need done around a house house.

Crawford is counted as employed even though he’s been working temporary and part-time jobs. But, Mayland says the headline unemployment rate of 7-point 2 percent hides what he calls the rate of underemployment.

Mayland says the so-called “fiscal cliff,” the federal government sequester and the roll-out of the Affordable Care Act has kept economic growth for the first six months of 2013 at about 2%. He says that’s not enough growth to gin up the hiring of fulltime workers. Mayland predicts slightly better economic growth for the remainder of 2013.

]]>http://wosu.org/2012/news/2013/07/19/ohio-job-growth-stalls-in-june/feed/1Ken Mayland,Ohio Department of Job Family ServicesOfficials say Ohio's unemployment rate rose to 7.2 % in June with a loss of 12,500 jobs, the second largest of any state that month.Officials say Ohio's unemployment rate rose to 7.2 % in June with a loss of 12,500 jobs, the second largest of any state that month.WOSU Newsno2:58